The Price We Pay

Opening the door slightly, slowly an inch at a time he thanked any god out there for his lithe yet muscular form, allowing him to sneak inside with very little space between the open door and frame. He found a table just beside the frame and crawled underneath, safe he looked around the room.

Naruto was on a cold metal table, bound down with leather straps, a ball gag in his mouth, naked and the man with his back to Sasuke’s position, writing in a thick spiral notebook.

For at least twenty minutes all he did was write, occasionally glancing at other notes, murmuring to himself as he did. Then he dropped the pen and moved towards the small steel bench nearby. Naruto seemed to know what it meant for he started to whimper loudly, head raised slightly to watch it meant for he started to whimper loudly, head raised slightly to watch pathetically, entire body shaking in fear.

Sasuke watched the man draw a sickening green liquid into a needle, squeeze the air bubbles out and pressed the point to the boys exposed inner elbow, slowly pushing it through the long point. When Sasuke saw the way Naruto jerked against the straps in fear, pain and horror he knew he had to stop him, he knew he had to save his friend and to hell with waiting for help.

He launched from his hiding place and rough-house kicked the man in the head.

With a cry the evil man’s head struck the bench with a satisfying thump, spilling various instruments all over the floor while Sasuke used his stunned state to perch on his back and hold him down. But he didn’t notice one of the man’s hands straining to reach the fallen scalpel nearby in an effort to hold his bucking cursing form to the floor, but watching from the table, Naruto did.

As the fingers curled around the handle and raised it slowly he did something he hadn’t done in so long, rebelled and put someone in front of his own life. Eyes changing to a deep blue he opened his mouth and screamed with all he was “NO!! SASUKE LOOK OUT!!!”

Sasuke froze, looking up at Naruto in shock and horror. He was obviously gagged still but he could swear he had just heard Naruto scream a warning to him, and in his head! How could he...!

Any more thoughts were cut off as something cold went through hid back and into his chest. He screamed in agony and his last thought before everything went black was anger at himself for being so stupid as to let the warner distract him from the warning.

“Brat” the man muttered as he pushed the limp body off him, muttering to himself as he stood. First thing he did was hit Sasuke hard across the face then he started to tie the still boy up.

Something filled Naruto’s veins that he hadn’t felt for years, since the man thought he had broke his spirit. Anger, lots and lots of glorious anger. All the anger that had been bottled up since his torture, since his first rape. It boiled to the surface and almost burst forth.

His thoughts full of anger and pain, his eyes on his master he slowly raised his lower back and buttocks off the bench and clenched his teeth around the rubber ball in his mouth as he allowed Kyuubi to free one of his tails from his body. The pain was incredible but he could and would succeed, for Sasuke’s sake.

With one swipe of the burning tail he burned through the leather straps around him, glad the food he had eaten lately had given them the energy for this. Once his ankles and legs were free he turned to his wrists, glancing at the man before turning back to his arms.

Just as he was almost free the man smelt the burning leather and looked up, grabbing his whip and running towards him. As the barbed leather end flew towards Naruto’s neck his wrist bonds snapped and he grabbed the end before it could land with one hand, his right already numb. He pulled it sharply out of the man’s hands, eyes blazing red in fury, pupils dilated as both spirit and being were in perfect agreement and union.

Sasuke regained consciousness briefly to see Naruto with the whip. He watched him snap the wood handle over his knee and throw it back at the man. Sasuke smiled to himself and closed his eyes again.

Naruto slid off the table, legs shaking under him for a few seconds. He pushed the man roughly into a corner, causing him to hit his head again and almost lose consciousness. Growling at the man mentally “stay there you shit or I’ll kill you! I can claim self-defence and get away it!”

The man didn’t move.

Naruto stumbled to his friends side, body rapidly becoming numb. Not having the energy to untie the ropes he burnt them carefully and bent to examine him.

His eyes filling with tears he stroked the short spiky hair of his mate and the one he loved over all else. He was slowly dying from the damage to his lung and blood loss, the crimson liquid staining his top and pooling around him. Naruto took his temper out on the room, kicking over tables, pushing over chairs and benches, spilling the chemicals all over the floor. When he had exhausted himself he collapsed on his knees beside Sasuke again.

He had no choice. He pulled out the scalpel, getting a face full of blood for his troubles, got an needle and thread from the tray next to the bench and as best he could with only one hand he stitched the wound closed. Although it wouldn’t help with the damaged lung, even might make then fill with blood it would prevent him dying from blood-loss long enough to get help.

He remembered something though, he and Sasuke were the same blood type before he and Sakura were grabbed. Would it still be the same after all the chemicals in him and what about the affect HIS blood would have on Sasuke himself? What would the chemicals do to him? What if they killed him anyway?

“Do not fear for him, kit. Do it, I will make sure he only gets what he needs to heal and awaken his inherent power. He will need it, as you will need him, in the coming events.”

He nodded, he had to risk it, the chance of Sasuke dying without blood to replace his loss was stronger then the chance of him dying from the chemicals in his blood. He turned to the man and snarled in his head “you will do a blood transfusion or what you saw me do to this room will be nothing compared to what you saw me do to this room will be nothing compared to what I’ll do to you, understand?”

The man nodded quickly, probably thinking he would get a chance to get Naruto when the blood loss made him too weak to fight back. But Naruto wasn’t planning on giving him that sort of chance.

“Well hurry or I’ll change my mind about giving you to the cops.” The man nodded again, moving forward to get the things needed.

~***************************************~

Iruka sat in the ambulance beside Sakura, holding her tightly close, concerned about Naruto and Sasuke. There had been the noise of crashing and a few cries from upstairs, cries, Madara had said were Sasuke and had had to be held back from running inside to his nephew’s rescue but they knew if they went in the man would kill Naruto and, now, Sasuke, it seemed.

Suddenly to their surprise a very pale Naruto appeared at the window, beckoned for them to come in, and quickly disappeared again. Madara calmed and pulled free but stood calmly, watching Gaara without a word but both Sakura and Iruka could definitely see the silent communication going on between them.

Finally the detective nodded, drew his weapon and followed by some other armed men, they entered the building, expecting a trap. But it wasn’t, no one suddenly jumped out at them or shot at them.

Cautiously one man opened the door.

They found the man in a corner, tied tightly and Naruto leaning heavily on the only table not turned over, head down. He looked barely able to stand, to keep himself upright, and he looked up at them, eyes silver with worry, tears running down his ghostly white cheeks and swaying badly on his feet.

Gaara’s eyes widened, Kakashi about to move to his adopted sons side but he stopped them with a look, slowly moving aside so they so they could see the pale still figure on the table. Gaara paled dramatically, put his weapon away and ran to examine his nephew-in-law. Kakashi looked at his son for long minutes, eyes asking what happened but Naruto just shook his head slightly and looked at some strange objects nearby.

Still keeping an eye on his son-in-law Kakashi moved to look at them. Tubes, needles and an empty bottle with a little blood still sitting in the bottom. He turned curiously to his son who nodded to Sasuke’s punctured wrist then showed his own.

Gaara realized it “he must have given him a blood transfusion.”

Naruto nodded, fear and pain in his eyes as he swayed from side to side, about to collapse. Seeing it Kakashi put the things down and ran to his son, barely catching him before he hit the ground, unconscious.

~***************************************~

The darkness slowly parted and Sasuke found him cursing himself. How could he black out like that when Naruto needed him?!

Whatever had hit him before was gone and his back felt tight but there was no pain and his fingers and toes all moved without a problem. He was about to open his eyes slightly and look around for his love and the man when something suddenly occurred to him, it felt wrong, the environment he was in, but why?

Slowly he concentrated on the feeling, trying to identify every clue that lead to the sensation. Seven things, all at once, came to him and he slowed them down to examine them, one at a time.

First was he was hearing distant conversation, not by SWAT or the man but official medical talk.
The second was all he could smell was ammonia and disinfectant, not the stink of fear and blood.

Third when he curled his fingers and toes again he found his shoes and socks gone and instead of laying on an cold metal floor he was laying on soft cloth that encased him from the neck down, laying on his stomach and something thicker and softer under the cloth under him.

He somehow knew he was only wearing thin shorts-the rest of him bare between the cloth.
Forth was the steady beeping filling the room regularly.

Fifth was the sense of being safe where he lay, shadowed recollections of a male voice telling him he was safe and cared for, he trusted that voice, but he shouldn’t be safe, should he?

Sixth was flashes of memory he kept having, one of Naruto facing the bastard kidnapper and rapist, snapping the handle of a whip over his knee, face furious.

But the seventh, the seventh was the clencher.

Ever since meeting Naruto, no, since he was born, he had felt his being in a corner of his mind, but until he met Naruto he had never realised who and what it had been or meant.

When Naruto and Sakura were taken it was his sign that they were still alive, still out there awaiting him to find and rescue then.

Even feeling his loves pain and fear, he was alive, surviving for him.

Strangely another part of his brain was analysing the link, reasoning that it was why he had heard Naruto's cry in his head before. Somehow what the bastard did to him had intensified their bond on Naruto's side. Or maybe it had to do with Kyuubi now.

And now, now there was nothing.

It was an empty cavern, a vast desolate ditch, an abyss or void of nothingness.

His disappearing state in his head caused terror, panic and overwhelming anxiety to fill him, giving strength and speed as he jerked himself up, ignoring the sudden slash of pain in his back as he screamed his best friends and loves name.